Lance Deal begins his 13th year with the Oregon track and field program. After eight years as a successful assistant coach, he was named director of track & field venues and program support in 2010.

The 1996 Olympic silver medalist and 21-time national champion is responsible for coordinating the activities and improvements at of one of the most storied venues in all of sport - Historic Hayward Field. Deal ensures that the iconic stadium is preped and in top condition for every meet it hosts. He also oversees all equipment necessary for staging track events on the grand stage, ranging from hurdles and starting blocks to pits and poles and everything in between.

Another aspect of Deal’s role is to serve as the program’s point man for all capital improvement and construction projects. He played an integral role in the intensive Hayward Field renovation that took place for the 2008 Olympic Trials. That feat included realigning the grass infield and designing and building new cages for the hammer and discus throwers, among numerous other features. He subsequently oversaw both permanent and temporary additions to the classic venue for the 2010 and 2013 NCAA Championships, as well as the 2012 Olympic Trials and the USA Track & Field Championships in 2009 and 2011.

Deal transitioned into the role at Hayward Field after guiding Duck athletes to a pair of NCAA championships, 21 All-America honors, 12 Pac-10 titles and 25 school records.

As an athlete, Deal ignited the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Stadium crowd with a silver medal in the hammer (266-2), and he also competed in the 1988, 1992 and 2000 Olympic Games and in the IAAF World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999. In world rankings, he stood first in the world in 1996 and was among the top-10 five other seasons (1992-93-94-95-98). The U.S. record holder at 270-9, Deal owns 16 of the top 20 throws all-time by Americans. His resume boasts nine U.S. outdoor hammer titles, 12 indoor titles in the weight throw (35-lb.) – including a record nine straight – and nine year-end No. 1 hammer rankings.

Deal was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in December of 2014.

Deal also excelled in the discus and shot put. As an undergraduate at Montana State, he earned All-America honors in the discus during the 1984 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field with a personal best of 202-2 and also threw a best in the shot put of 60-2.5.

Born in Riverton, Wyo., Deal is a graduate of Montana State University (1984) and Natrona County High School (Casper, Wyo., 1979). He and his wife Nancy have one daughter, Sarah.